(NewsTarget) In a surprising turn of events, the mainstream media has begun to ask the question, "What killed Heath Ledger?" According to the Associated Press, authorities have now stated they found six different prescription drugs in Ledger's apartment. Those drugs reportedly include Zoloft (a mind-altering antidepressant drug) and Ambien (a sleep drug with bizarre side effects) as well as an antihistamine drug that has not yet been named. Reports also state there were over-the-counter prescription drugs found at the scene, and that three of the pharmaceuticals found in Ledger's apartment were prescribed in Europe (the others were prescribed in the United States).

Rumors have been circling that a $20 bill found in Ledger's apartment contained cocaine residue, but this has been proven false, according to the Associated Press. The $20 bill in question was tested by law enforcement authorities and no cocaine residue was found. (This seems strange, given that ALL dollar bills contain trace levels of cocaine, by the way...) There are conflicting reports from various celebrities commenting on Ledger's history of drug addiction. While it's clear that Ledger had previously sought treatment for a drug addiction, there is not yet any reliable evidence that Ledger was using such drugs in combination with the pharmaceuticals that may have killed him.

The Drudge Report is asking tonight, "What Killed Heath?" It's the first sensible headline we've seen on the topic, and of course it comes from an online, alternative media source (the mainstream media has yet to seriously question the safety of the FDA-approved pharmaceuticals that appear to be involved in Ledger's death).

NewsTarget earlier published a story questioning the journalistic integrity of the mainstream media and asking whether a conflict of interest (mainstream media companies are largely funded by pharmaceutical advertising money) was preventing them from making serious inquiry into the health hazards of pharmaceuticals. Had Ledger's body been found next to a bottle of herbal medicine, there's no doubt the media (and the FDA) would be screaming about the dangers of herbs, but since the drugs that apparently killed Ledger are "approved" by the FDA, there seems to be an astonishing lack of inquisition about those drugs in the mainstream media.

The current media reports are blaming Ledger for his own death and not even asking sensible questions about whether the powerful chemicals found beside his body may have been the cause.

Why cover this celebrity story?

In the past, I've railed against excessive media coverage of celebrities like Michael Jackson, and today, NewsTarget readers are asking why we're spending so much time reporting on Heath Ledger. The answer is not that Ledger's death is any more tragic than the deaths of all the other people killed by pharmaceuticals -- all human beings have equal value, and no drug-induced fatality is unimportant -- it's just that the celebrity status of Ledger is bringing so much media attention to this news that we feel compelled to demand that the facts about the dangers of pharmaceuticals be accurately and honestly investigated.

Let's face it: The public pays attention when celebrities marry, divorce or pass away. And unlike the deaths of so many other celebrities who overdosed on cocaine or illegal drugs, the current evidence appears to support the notion that Ledger was killed by the chemical toxicity of FDA-approved drugs. If the final toxicology report supports this, it could bring a tremendous amount of attention to the dangers of medications currently being pushed onto young people by drug companies, doctors, psychiatrists and health authorities.

I truly believe Ledger would be alive, healthy and happy today if he had turned to natural medicine instead of relying on chemical pharmaceuticals. And while his death is a tragic loss of a widely-loved human being, it is hugely important that society pay attention to what might have killed Ledger and take precautions to protect our children, teens and young adults from similar fates in the future. What Ledger's death demonstrates, I believe, is the cost in human lives of the mass-medication of our population.

So we cover the Heath Ledger story not simply because of one individual's celebrity status, but rather because the implications for the welfare of so many other people paying attention to this issue are very large. Ledger's death may, in fact, may be among his most powerful statements to the world: Beware the consequences of pharmaceuticals.

It is a message that Ledger's celebrity status allows him to send even from beyond the grave.

NewsTarget shall continue to bring you updates on this story as new information emerges.

About the author:Mike Adams (aka the "Health Ranger") is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com) and a globally recognized scientific researcher in clean foods. He serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation.

Adams is a person of color whose descendents include Africans and American Indians. He self-identifies as being of American Indian heritage, which he credits as inspiring his "Health Ranger" passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution.

Adams is the founder and publisher of the open source science journal Natural Science Journal, the author of numerous peer-reviewed science papers published by the journal, and the author of the world's first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books.

In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.

With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies.